


Concealed

by justhere



Series: Quand tout se perd [1]
Category: Infinite (Band), K-pop
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Angst, Fluff and Angst, I swear no one dies, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Sexual Content, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-15
Updated: 2015-08-15
Packaged: 2018-04-14 21:08:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4580217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justhere/pseuds/justhere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jang Dongwoo set up two of his former lovers, Kim Sunggyu and Nam Woohyun. </p><p>Sunggyu and Woohyun didn't like that they had found each other from Dongwoo's heartbreak, but about a year into their relationship, they were introduced to someone at a Christmas party Sunggyu's office was throwing. It didn't take long for them to realize that this man was perfect for their best friend. To ease their unnecessary guilt, Woohyun and Sunggyu helped Dongwoo to find love in this man: Lee Howon.</p><p>And five years later, no more needed to be said. Both couples had managed to fight through the prejudice and hardships, and were still going strong. Dongwoo and Howon had been living together in Howon's luxurious apartment for a few years, while Woohyun and Sunggyu have just moved into their first house together.</p><p>Unbeknownst to the other, one couple has been harboring a painful secret for far too long.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Concealed

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-posted to AFF, but this is the first thing I'm posting on here, so please tell me if I forgot an important tag involving warnings- I don't want to trigger anybody! :S

"Hey Gyu, what do you think would have happened if we never met each other?"

Sunggyu snorted, not taking his eyes off the road, but reached for his boyfriend's hand. "Why is that coming up all of a sudden?"

Woohyun smiled softly. "I don't know. Our anniversary is coming up soon, so I've just been thinking a lot lately." 

Sunggyu rolled his eyes, his lips pulling into a grin as well. "Baby, what have I told you about thinking?" he joked, squeezing Woohyun's hand.

"Hey, that's just not fair!" Woohyun retorted with a pout. "Here I am being all affectionate with you and you go and insult me." He tried to pull his hand from Sunggyu's grip, but the older wouldn't allow that. The car pulled up at a red light, so Sunggyu took a chance to look over to Woohyun's face. "I'm kidding with you baby. But I don't think I could imagine what it would be like if we'd never met..." he trailed off. He left enough of a pause in the conversation, both too deep in their thoughts, that the light had already turned green by the time one of them found their words again.

"I think even if hyung didn't introduce us, we still would have found each other. Don't you think?" Woohyun offered, smiling widely at the sentiment. "I think somehow, fate would have led us here whether we knew what was happening or not," he continued, on a rant now. "Maybe we would have met at the grocery store or the gym or something. And it would be one of those things where our eyes meet across the display of strawberries, and then... I don't know, we'd make out right there in the supermarket probably."

Sunggyu let him talk out his little fantasy he'd created in his head before he started laughing at its ridiculousness. "Babe, you do remember that when we actually met, you tried to run away from our date... right?"

Woohyun's eyes went wide. "That's not entirely true!" he defended himself.

"Oh? Then how come you hid behind a menu trying to make a break for the door while I was in the bathroom?" 

Woohyun pouted. "Baby~ you know it wasn't because I didn't like you! It was scary! I'd never been set up for a date before and you were so quiet..."

Sunggyu had to laugh at that. "Okay, but can you blame me for feeling awkward? Dongwoo and I had literally broken up a few weeks before and then he decided he wanted to set me up with a random ex-boyfriend of his. I mean, he gave me that whole backstory- I was expecting to come in there to find some weirdo... I don't know. When I think of people Dongwoo would date in high school, I think of people who talk too much and- whatever. Either way, it was weird meeting someone so charming instead of the scenarios I kept creating in my head. I fell for you right away."

"Oh shut up, you!" Woohyun demanded, blushing and smiling like an idiot. "I'm supposed to say the romantic things; you're supposed to sit there and admire me silently." 

"Is it so wrong that I want to admire you out loud once in a while?"

"....No," Woohyun responded with that huge blush that wouldn't die down, refusing to look over at the older who was discreetly stealing glances at him every couple of seconds. 

Sunggyu laughed as he pulled into the parking lot of their destination. "Now quit blushing, I don't want to show up with a tomato."

"You.... are not a nice person," Woohyun retorted, hardly waiting for Sunggyu to park before he was unbuckling his seatbelt and getting out.

Sunggyu didn't have much time to remove the keys, get out of the car himself, and also lock it behind him as he tried to catch up with his eager boyfriend. "Wait up Hyunnie, I want to hold your hand!" Sunggyu loved moments like this when he could get Woohyun all flustered, because normally, it was the opposite. Woohyun's teasing tended to take up more sexual content- something Sunggyu found very embarrassing for some reason- whereas Sunggyu's sappy moments were rather few and far between. 

He was a man of actions rather than words. His brain equated bringing home extra cupcakes from the office on the weekend for Woohyun to mean a sincere 'I love you.'

Sunggyu took a moment to straighten out his suit before he stepped into the restaurant hand-in-hand with Woohyun. He led them up to the hostess' stand, where they were greeted warmly.

"Hello, we have reservations at 7:30 for a table of four. The name will be Lee Howon."

"Of course, sirs, follow me please," the beautiful hostess replied professionally, flashing a smile as she gathered up menus. As the two followed her, swerving around unused tables, they inspected their surroundings. The restaurant was chosen by Howon- Sunggyu's new boss and the 5-year boyfriend of his best friend Dongwoo.

Before, Sunggyu and Howon had worked together as coworkers for years. It's not that Sunggyu wasn't good at his job or that he was lazy, but Howon was a natural workaholic. He was always at the office, and he worked hard for all of the promotions he got to get him here. It would be weird having to treat his friend like his boss at work from now on, but if it resulted in fancy double-dates at beautiful, lavish restaurants, he was sure he could get used to it without a problem.

They arrived at their table, seemingly in the very center of the room they had been led to. There was hardly anyone else occupying the other tables, and they soon realized they were the first to arrive in their small group. The woman seated them and handed them their menus, promising that their server would come by shortly.

"It's 7:31, where's Howon?" Woohyun joked, knowing Howon had a thing for punctuality. He was never late, but he was also never early. Somehow, he always arrived exactly when he said he would. Sunggyu guessed it was a control problem. He liked to be professional even in casual matters like this.

Sunggyu smiled in response to Woohyun's question, glancing at his watch. "I'd give him another 30 seconds at least. We should be generous since he's treating us to this dinner."

"How come when we celebrate someone's work achievements, they always pay for the meals?" Woohyun questioned, genuinely confused by this new thought that had popped up in his head.

"That's because we like to flaunt our new riches," a new voice came from directly behind Woohyun. He whipped his head around to see a grinning, well-dressed Howon approaching with an equally dashing Dongwoo trailing just behind, holding onto Howon's hand and trying to keep up with his brisk pace.

The two smiled when they had fully reached the table, and Sunggyu and Woohyun stood to greet them both with hugs. The four sat themselves around the square table and immediately resumed conversation as if they'd already been speaking for hours already.

"Dongwoo, you should wear a suit more often!" Sunggyu exclaimed. "Look at you-"

"Hey now," Howon interjected in jealousy, doing his best to shield Dongwoo from view with his hands.

"Yah," Dongwoo laughed, peeking out from behind his boyfriend's hands until the youngest finally let his arms drop down to his lap with a smile on his face as well. "I don't like suits, hyung," he pouted. "They're so stuffy."

Sunggyu chuckled at his friend's complaints. "Oh, and how is that helping your job search, hm?"

He frowned for real at that, but before he could respond, Woohyun was butting back into the conversation. "It doesn't matter, baby, he's got a rich boyfriend to live with," he commented with an amused laugh, eyes sparkling towards the couple.

Woohyun and Sunggyu were always so pleased that they were able to find Dongwoo's perfect man. When he'd gotten the two of them together, both of them knew their best friend was a little hurt to see two of his former lovers so happy when he was left with no one. It took them a while, but they knew they'd found the right one after the first conversation with the charming guy at Sunggyu's law firm's Christmas party. He was clever and witty- perfect for one who likes to laugh. He was built and attractive in a way that said he was clean-cut but also slightly messy in a classy fashion. Learning that he was gay was actually quite exciting for the established couple- they had no more doubts and had set the two up on a date in no time.

Learning about his propensity for promotions was a plus. Dongwoo didn't need to be supported at first. He had a technical job at a local radio broadcasting studio, but quit a couple of years ago and moved in with Howon; he hasn't been able to find proper work since.

"Have you had a chance to look at the menu?" Howon asked.

"Oh!" Woohyun exclaimed happily, as if he had forgotten they were here in the first place, and picked up his menu to glance over the options. Within a few seconds, his eyes were going wide and he whipped his head towards Sunggyu. Taking notice that Dongwoo and Howon were engrossed in quiet conversation of their own with their heads down and close together, Woohyun expressed his shock to his boyfriend. "Did you see the prices??"

Sunggyu chuckled at how cute he found Woohyun's expressiveness. "Just don't order the most expensive thing and it'll be fine."

~~

"Hyunnie, wake up!" Sunggyu shouted at his still-sleeping boyfriend who refused to get up to go to work.

"No~ I don't want to go today!" Woohyun whined like he did most mornings, squirming further under the fluffy comforter so his face was hidden. 

"Babe I hate to break it to you, but you know if you don't show up, they're allowed to fire you, right?" Sunggyu stated the obvious fact as if it were something new to Woohyun, who simply pulled the covers down enough to stick his tongue out at Sunggyu.

"Tell them to call in a substitute, my ass hurts too much to get up today."

Sunggyu had to laugh smugly at that. "Hey, no complaints- last night was your idea."

"Whatever," Woohyun grumbled, forcing himself up on his forearms to yawn before getting out of the bed. Sunggyu pat his butt on his way to the closet, speaking as he searched his rows of button-down shirts. "Hyun, your students need a good role model. Don't go in there limping, they might be concerned for your health."

"Ugh, they wouldn't even notice," countered Woohyun. He forced his way into the small closet as well, bumping Sunggyu with his hip to move him away from his view. 

Sunggyu snorted as he made his way back towards the bed to lay out his clothes. "Mature," he commented casually. "And they definitely would notice," he continued as he began to change. "They may be young but you would be surprised at how observant they are."

"You seem to know things about kids, huh?" Woohyun yawned lazily, pulling out his own clothes before joining Sunggyu in getting dressed for the day. "Do you want to have kids someday?" he asked as if it held no more meaning than something like 'do you want water or coke?'.

Sunggyu grinned, putting on his tie. "I don't know. I don't think I've ever thought about it since I realized I wasn't straight."

Woohyun made a noise of agreement in the back of his throat, moving towards Sunggyu to tighten his tie just because he thought it would be a cute gesture even though he had only gotten his own pants on so far. Sunggyu was very proficient in tying his own ties, but Woohyun loved doing it for him. While the younger's hands were occupied with his current task, Sunggyu let his own hands wander over Woohyun's bare back and loving the way it felt so smooth and muscular under his fingertips. 

"Quit it, babe," Woohyun chastised, deeming the tie perfectly tightened before moving back to finish dressing himself. "You make me wish I had time to spend the whole day cuddling with you," the younger pouted. "What are you doing going in to work this early anyway?" he questioned. Usually Sunggyu didn't have to be in for a couple of hours, and he would often make good use of that bit of extra sleep time.

Sunggyu sighed whistfully. "I don't know. I just wanted to eat breakfast with you this morning, and if that results in me showing up early for work, then hey- more money in my pocket."

"Mmm... Breakfast sounds good right now.." Woohyun moaned in excitement. "Do you want to make something or should we go out? Oh wait! Today is monday, we should visit Dongwoo at work." The two had obviously subconsciously memorized Dongwoo's schedule of working part-time at the coffee shop down nearby the school where Woohyun worked.

"Alright, hurry up then. You can't be late," Sunggyu commented on his way out of the room.

"Yeah, yeah!" Woohyun called back, slipping into the bathroom to brush his teeth and freshen up.

The morning felt special to Woohyun. He didn't often wake up to Sunggyu's voice, but usually to the monotonous beeping of the alarm clock. Needless to say, he quite enjoyed this change. The car ride was comfortably quiet- neither really wanted to speak for fear of saying something stupid before they got their coffee, but the silence didn't bother either one of them. 

When the couple walked into the shop hand-in-hand, they could already smell the freshly ground coffee beans and hot pastries just out of the oven. Perks of being extra early meant they got the best selection of treats to choose from.

"Good morning, welcome t- oh, hey guys," Dongwoo gave the two of them a small smile as they walked up to the counter where he was waiting.

"Morning, Dongwoo!" Woohyun greeted amicably, already awake enough to be friendly. "You look tired, why do you always take the morning shifts?" he commented, frowning at the bags under Dongwoo's eyes and the tired smile in place on his lips. He knew his best friend was not a morning person, so the reason he willingly chose to work these hours baffled him.

"Ah, my only other option was nighttime, and Howon usually only gets the nights off. He told me that this way, we could spend more time together," Dongwoo explained, allowing himself to yawn since these weren't just any customers. "Anyway, what can I get for you guys?"

Woohyun raised an eyebrow. "You have to ask at this point?" he joked. They were such frequent customers, all of the employees probably knew their favourite orders as well.

Dongwoo giggled a little. "No, but you never know. Variety is good, maybe you wanted to switch things up for today."

"Yeah maybe another time. I need that espresso," Sunggyu participated in the conversation for the first time that morning.

"I can tell, sleepy-head," Dongwoo commented, his back already turned as he worked the coffee machines. "How's it been with Howon as your boss?" he asked without turning around.

Sunggyu sighed. "It's definitely not as bad as I was expecting. I've heard about people who go crazy once they get power, but he seems pretty much the same. It's only been a few weeks though, so we'll see what happens," he said with a light-hearted grin on his face. "How do you deal with all these hours he's been working?"

Woohyun and Sunggyu knew Dongwoo must get lonely sometimes, since he only had a part-time job and Howon worked until late at night nowadays. Woohyun usually took time to hang out with him after school ended since Howon and Sunggyu still had several more hours to go in their work days at that point.

"It's not that bad," Dongwoo answered quietly, pausing just half of a second in his actions before resuming. "Really, it's hardly any more than he used to."

Finally, he turned back around, presenting the two with their own personalized drinks with a big smile. "And here's breakfast-" he spoke as he moved to their glass display case of pastries, handing the two of them the orders that he knew so well by now.

Sunggyu handed Dongwoo in return a large wad of money. Dongwoo accepted it, counting through the bills to find- "Hyung, that's way too much, why must you make my job hard for me," he whined as he pulled out the tray of the cash register as he began getting change.

"Oh, I don't want change. Just put it in there," Sunggyu replied, pointing to the tip jar on the counter.

"Hyung-" Dongwoo tried to protest, but Woohyun and Sunggyu had already grabbed their food and drinks and were halfway to the door already.

"No givesies-backsies!" Sunggyu shouted over his shoulder as they left the shop.

"Really, hyung?!"

~~

The group of four sat in Woohyun and Sunggyu's living room on a stormy night, empty beer cans piling up on the coffee table as they enjoyed themselves in one another's company. Dongwoo and Howon came to visit that night because Dongwoo's birthday was the very next day, and he wanted nothing more than to spend time with his best friends. No fancy party, no expensive dinner- just hanging out.

"Let's play truth or dare!" Woohyun suggested quite suddenly.

"How old are you?" Sunggyu interrogated the younger, raising an eyebrow in question at the childish suggestion.

Woohyun laughed at his boyfriend's expression. "Come on baby, it'll be fun," he begged, throwing little hearts at the eldest in an attempt to convince him that it didn't matter that they were adult men- truth or dare can still be fun when just slightly intoxicated.

It seemed the aegyo did enough to Sunggyu that he was agreeing to play in moments, glancing over to see if the other couple was in.

"Sure," Dongwoo agreed with a pleasant smile on his face.

"How do we decide who goes first?" Woohyun asked, reaching for the half-empty bag of chips and munching away. Sunggyu decided for him, pointing straight at Howon. "Truth or dare?" he challenged.

Howon laughed a bit before deciding on 'dare.'

The other three pondered for a moment. "Hmm..." Woohyun hummed. "How about you...." he trailed off, obviously just stalling time since no one could think of something worthwhile.

"Oh!" Sunggyu exclaimed. "I dare you to come to work tomorrow with no shoes on."

Everyone looked over to him like he was crazy. "What kind of dare is that?" Woohyun asked, but was cut off when Howon answered simply with a "fine," not sounding too fazed by the idea at all.

"What's the point in-"

"Woohyun, truth or dare?" Howon interjected, keeping the game moving and clearly enjoying himself now. He grabbed another can of beer from the fridge as Woohyun thought about his options.

"Truth," he eventually decided, and the rest of them grew quiet once again to think.

Sunggyu smiled evilly now and looked to his boyfriend with testing eyes. "Back when you and Dongwoo were together, who was top?" he asked in that fake casual voice usually reserved for a mother trying to get her child to confess something. Woohyun, Dongwoo, and Howon all went wide-eyed at that question.

"No, I don't think-" Dongwoo started but was cut off by Woohyun's loud exclamation of "are you kidding me? We were like.. 16!"

Sunggyu cocked his head to the side. "You mean you guys never did it?" he asked, shocked at the news.

"Guys, stop-" Dongwoo tried again.

"No of course not- we dated for a few years, but that doesn't mean that we had to have sex, right?" Woohyun sounded horrified at the prospect. "What about you? You have?" Now it was Woohyun's turn to be shocked.

"Well yeah," Sunggyu laughed. Howon pulled Dongwoo into his side tightly with his hand on his opposite hip to hold him there as he stared disapprovingly at the scene before him. "We were in college and horny," the oldest of the four continued.

"Yeah okay, well who topped then?" Woohyun asked, laughing as much as Sunggyu was now.

"Hyung-" Dongwoo's useless attempts at steering the conversation away were no use.

"He did," Sunggyu admitted offhandedly. Woohyun gasped and stared open-mouthed back and forth between the two of them while Dongwoo buried his face in his hands.

"But that's not right! That's just not right!" Woohyun exclaimed, clearly not used to hearing about his own boyfriend being topped.

"You know what-" Dongwoo finally made sure his voice was loud enough to gain attention. "It's pretty late, I think we'll just go home," he said, trying to extract himself from his boyfriend's tight hold to stand up.

"Aw, I'm sorry if we made you uncomfortable- don't go," Woohyun begged.

Dongwoo smiled softly at him. "No, it's fine. You didn't make me uncomfortable. We've been here for hours already. Howon's just had a lot to drink and he's got work in the morning," he explained, pulling Howon's arm so he would stand as well. "Thank you both so much for tonight," he said, giving the other couple sincere hugs. He tried to pick up a few of the empty cans on the table, but Sunggyu quickly stood and shooed him away. "Hey, we've got it. You and Howon just go home and have fun, okay?" he said with a wink. A blushing Dongwoo and a conflicted Howon were gone in moments.

When the other two were gone, Woohyun stood and made his way over to where Sunggyu had already started clearing away some of the mess. He strode up behind his lover silently and wrapped his arms around his waist tightly in a back hug. Surprised, the older dropped the few things he was holding and turned around to face his assailant.

"You know it's only 1:00," Woohyun whispered, moving his arms up to wrap around Sunggyu's neck as his lips pressed ever so lightly onto his skin. "How about we have our own party?" he suggested in the sexiest voice he could muster. The sound of the rain ouside hitting the roof intensified, the storm getting bigger. For some reason that Sunggyu could never understand, Woohyun loved to be extra intimate on stormy nights. He says it's because he likes how the thunder seems to echo the moans, and the occasional flash of lightning provided just enough light to illuminate Sunggyu's sweat-glistened body and face displaying pure pleasure for just a split second before it went dark again.

And Sunggyu found it too hard to resist his boyfriend, every time. He moved his own hands up to settle on Woohyun's hips, thumbs slipping just under the thin tshirt on his sides while Woohyun's lips never parted from Sunggyu's neck. His tongue was tracing patterns on his throat now, sucking his adam's apple softly, which made Sunggyu growl and jolt into action.

He pulled the youngers face up with one hand on his jaw and crashed their lips together roughly. It was a kiss of mostly teeth, but neither of the two cared as their hands began to wander over bodies with devious intentions. Sunggyu reached down with one goal in mind as he grasped the youngers ass with one hand- the other still holding onto his jaw- and squeezed hard, kneading the flesh in his strong hand. They kissed and touched for so long that both of them lost track of time.

Woohyun couldn't help but moan into the kiss as his own hands trailed up Sunggyu's chest underneath his shirt, digging his nails into the skin as he scratched back down at the rough treatment he was being dealt. He groaned loudly, trying to turn their kiss back into a real one with lips and tongue, but Sunggyu had different plans.

He pulled away to look Woohyun in the eyes, their faces so close that they could feel the other's breath ghosting thier lips and Sunggyu's hand still firmly grasping onto Woohyun's ass. "I want you to fuck me tonight, baby," he demanded breathlessly, already panting from just how turned on he was.

"Oh yeah?" Woohyun asked, fluttering his eyes. "Did all that talk about Dongwoo remind you just how much you love having a good dick up your ass?"

Sunggyu growled, taking Woohyun by the wrist and dragging him to their bedroom only to stop them before they got to the bed. "Naked. Now," he ordered, stripping himself of his own shirt and watching as Woohyun did the same. They tugged at each other's pants, trying to make things move faster, because the tension was built up so high that neither one could keep themselves restrained in pants at the moment.

"Touch me- touch me baby," Woohyun gasped out as Sunggyu shoved his hand straight into the other's boxers. Without having to remove Sunggyu's hand from his cock, he managed to shimmy out of his underwear and even pushed Sunggyu's down as well- a very accomplished task considering how he felt he might pass out from Sunggyu's tight grip on his dick stroking him slowly.

The older removed his hand, moving over to sit himself on the bed up by the pillows. "I want you in control tonight baby," he pleaded, sounding quite desperate to get down to it.

Woohyun smirked, loving this control he was given. He'd never topped anyone before, but he'd been fucked by Sunggyu so many times that he knew what the other would like and what would feel good. He climbed up onto the bed and crawled towards his naked lover until his mouth was right by his ear. "Then I want to see you prepare yourself," he whispered huskily before licking a trail from his ear all the way down his jawline. While his mouth was sucking, he reached out blindly with his hand in the direction of their night table. 

It took more time fumbling around, but he'd rather this than have to separate to look for the lube. After a few clumsy tries, he successfully pulled the bottle out and passed it into Sunggyu's waiting hands. Woohyun crawled back a few steps and then sat back on his heels, watching intently as Sunggyu uncapped the bottle and poured a little bit of the liquid out onto his fingers. 

Already, Woohyun was having a hard time just playing voyeur, and he reached forward quickly, grabbing the lube from Sunggyu. The older spread his legs wide, wet fingers ready at his entrance and eyes already closed in anticipation. Woohyun slowly squeezed a few more drops from the bottle, drizzling it straight onto the other's hole. He reached down with two fingers and rubbed it in thoroughly before sitting back again. Sunggyu had gasped at the cold and his toes were curling at the sensation.

"Go now," Woohyun demanded, tossing the bottle of lube to the side and watching intently as the first finger went in. Sunggyu had his mouth slightly open in a silent moan, but he made no noise at all. His eyes squeezed even tighter shut with every centimeter deeper that finger would go. When it was clear that his finger couldn't get any deeper, he pulled back out slowly only to push it back in again a second later.

"It's been so long, Hyunnie." Sunggyu practically exhaled the words, already lost in the inexplicable pleasure he had entirely forgotten about. Needing more of that feeling and as soon as possible, he shoved a second finger right in with the first and started thrusting them immediately. "God, it's so tight," he groaned, wiggling his fingers around to make room.

Woohyun was absolutely enraptured with the scene; he couldn't stop himself from grasping the base of his own thick erection. His stokes were slow and strong- he didn't want to come too soon, but the sight was too beautiful to resist touching himself at least a little.

Just the sight of his dominant lover being so spread out and obedient made Woohyun harder than he thought could be possible from just watching someone masturbate.

Several minutes of nothing but the noise of soft pants and groans, Sunggyu was fitting a third finger into himself when Woohyun couldn't sit back and wait anymore. He crawled back up the bed, straddling Sunggyu's hips and leaning down to mark his chest. This encouraged Sunggyu to work his fingers in faster, getting used to the stretch in less time now that he could focus on Woohyun sucking and biting his collarbone.

"Shit-" he whispered, accompanied by a loud clap of thunder, which made Woohyun groan in response as he moved to the older's hard nipples. He had his leg thrown over the side of Sunggyu's body, trapping his arm against Woohyun's thigh so he could feel the flexing of the muscles as he thrusted his fingers in harder and faster. Sunggyu started to really lose coherency when he accidentally brushed against his own prostate, rutting his own body against his fingers once his arm got tired.

This was an entirely new experience for Woohyun- he knew what it was like to turn to putty when that spot deep inside was played with, but seeing Sunggyu experiencing those very same waves of pleasure made Woohyun realize how much more turned on he was that Sunggyu was doing this to himself. Sunggyu was pressing those very same fingers that Woohyun loved to feel inside of his body into his own ass, touching himself in the most intimate way.

With those the only thoughts that he could process, he grinded down on the olders cock with his own, the action causing beautiful friction. He wouldn't release his mouth from Sunggyu's nipple even when the older started pushing his shoulder with his free hand. Instead, he countinue lapping at it as he glanced up at his face. Lips parted and releasing loud moans that combatted even the noisy thunder, hair already a mess on top of his head, and eyes squeezed so tightly shut that it must have hurt.

"Hyunnie, oh god, Woohyun, I'm going to-" he cut himself off with a cry as Woohyun bit down hard on his nipple. "Going to come, oh god-"

But instead of allowing that to happen, Woohyun pushed himself up and yanked Sunggyu's hand from his ass. The older looked so horrified that he'd been denied such an intense orgasm that Woohyun had to laugh. "I'm sorry baby, but I promise it'll be even better once I'm inside of you," he whispered with one final open-mouthed kiss to the center of the older's chest before moving down his body.

Sunggyu was instantly spurred into action, turning his torso over so he could better reach the night stand while Woohyun descended on him, tongue tracing a path from his wet entrance up to his balls. He amused himself by sucking them lightly while Sunggyu struggled to get a condom out of the droor. Then, Sunggyu was sitting up, forcing Woohyun up on his knees as he ripped open the wrapper and rolled the condom down the younger's entire length.

Woohyun grunted; he almost forgot what it was like to have Sunggyu touch him since he'd been so caught up in Sunggyu touching himself. Wanting to feel more of it, he grabbed the bottle of lube from the other side of the bed and shoved it into Sunggyu's free hand. The older smirked, pouring a generous amount onto his hand before enclosing it around Woohyun's cock again. Woohyun rocked his hips forward as Sunggyu thoroughly coated his thick length.

"Hurry up, babe," Sunggyu whined. "Get in me, I want it-"

"Oh, you want it?" Woohyun asked cockily. He pulled his cock out of Sunggyu's hand and forced the other onto hands and knees in front of him. He stroked his length a few times before moving his hand up to rub around the waiting entrace, making sure it was a slick as possible so he didn't actually hurt the other.

Sunggyu was whining now as he gripped the sheets hard in tight fists. "Please, Hyunnie, I need to feel you," he begged breathlessly.

"Me?" Woohyun clarified sarcastically, rubbing his cock in Sunggyu's crack, pulling him apart with his hands so the older could feel him twitching against him. Sunggyu was practically shaking at Woohyun's teasing, and a quick flash of lightning proved to Woohyun that his shoulders were, in fact, trembling in need. "Yes, you," Sunggyu insisted impatiently.

He let out a high-pitched cry when Woohyun lined up and pushed only the tip of his cock inside, drawing out slowly only to repeat the frustrating action again and again.

"Baby-" Sunggyu moaned, long and drawn-out.

"I'm gonna fuck you so hard, Gyu, I'm gonna make you feel things you've never felt before-"

"Are you?" he challeneged. Knowing Woohyun was a competitive person, he decided to appeal to that in order to make it more pleasurable for both of them. "Because it's pretty hard to compete with Dongwoo, you know," he teased.

Woohyun's grip on Sunggyu's hip tightened, silently informing the other that he'd acheived his goal, and he snapped his hips forward without further delay to bury himself entirely into Sunggyu.

"Ahhh..." Sunggyu sighed, wondering why he'd never thought of doing it this way with Woohyun before. He lowered himself down to his elbows once Woohyun had begun thrusting, quickly falling into a fast rhythm.

Their moans were loud and needy from both sides, neither could get enough of the other. Woohyun removed his one of his hands from Sunggyu's hip to trail it up his spine, fingers flexing once he reached the back of the older's neck. He grabbed ahold of Sunggyu's hair and yanked him back up onto his hands.

"Fuck- Hyunnie, harder!" Sunggyu demanded. Woohyun wouldn't have really pegged Sunggyu as one who'd like pain, but with each rough grind of his hips straight into his prostate, each strong scratch down his back, each piercing smack on his ass- he screamed louder and louder, begging for it harder and faster.

"Ah- is this what you wanted, baby?" Woohyun gasped out, his hips thrusting madly in his own pleasure. "Am I doing better?"

Sunggyu had sunk down to his elbows again, his forehead pressed into the pillows as he tried to muffle his cries into the blanket. He was barely able to form words at this point, but he was so close that it would only take a little more to send him over the edge... "I- ah! I don't know... Dongwoo.. could a-always get so much deeper," he moaned, screaming out when the words caused Woohyun to grip his cock with one hand, pumping it along with the faltering rhythm of his thrusts.

The growl that the younger let out was right next to Sunggyu's ear, his body molded over the older's so that they could feel every inch of their skin touching.

"I'm- I'm close Woohyun!"

Sunggyu came undone when Woohyun licked the side of his neck hotly, panting loudly in his ear and whispering for him to come. Every muscle was tensed, and he couldn't tell if the flashes of white were from lightning or from the unbearable pleasure. Woohyun tried to hold it in, but when Sunggyu's hole was tightening even more around his dick, he couldn't help it, growling out his lovers name as he grinded deep inside of the older, both riding out the pleasure.

Woohyun slowly removed his sticky hand from Sunggyu's softening cock, but couldn't muster the energy to lift his body from Sunggyu's. Instead, the two simply rolled over so it looked as if they were just spooning. The storm was still raging outside, but the only thing the couple could hear were their panting breaths and rapid heartbeats.... and... a knock at their front door.

Sunggyu craned his head back so he could look at Woohyun. "What time is it?" he asked groggily. Woohyun had to practically contort his torso to find the clock, but when he did, he saw it was already past 2:00- the middle of the night...

"It's almost 2:15. Who the hell is even out here at this hour?" Woohyun groaned, hugging Sunggyu's body closer to his as they continued to feel the tingly aftershocks. 

Sunggyu laughed lightly and pushed himself back into Woohyun's embrace, humming contentedly at the feeling of the light, wet kisses Woohyun was pressing to his neck, his ear, his shoulder- pretty much anywhere his lips could reach. "Whatever," he ultimately decided, opting to stay in bed instead of going to open the door to what was probably some lost, drunk teenager who forgot which door belonged to their house.

"I love you, Hyunnie."

Woohyun chuckled, not even bothering to get up to clean themselves up yet. He only pulled Sunggyu's back closer into his chest and smiled. "I love you too, Gyu. I'm so happy we found each other."

Sunggyu was blushing; he didn't mean to, but he always got like that when Woohyun goes all sentimental on him. "I think we should take a shower," he suggested- not really wanting to move, but still feeling the need to clean up. 

Woohyun groaned as he pulled himself out of Sunggyu's body entirely and stood up from the bed stiffly. He held out his hand to the other to pull him up as well, and it was as the two were stretching when they faintly heard the knocking again.

Both of them groaned, and Sunggyu reached for some pants and a tshirt. "I'm just going to tell them to go away, I'll be right back," he spoke, kissing Woohyun lovingly on the lips while he struggled to get some sweatpants on. 

Woohyun pouted and sat down on the bed with his arms crossed, but waited patiently for his boyfriend's return.

Sunggyu ran a hand over his face as he made his way down the short hallway, heading towards their front door. He was so exhausted and he only wanted to take a shower and then cuddle in bed with his boyfriend for the rest of the night; he didn't want to deal with some underage drunk who was dripping wet from the rain.

Nonetheless, he opened up the door just to make the knocking stop only to see no one in front of him.

"Gyu-jiji?"

It was so faint compared to the thunder and the pounding rain, but Sunggyu looked down to the ground next to the door where he heard the voice. The sight he was met with was his best friend on the ground and leaning against the side of the house for support, his eyes looking up at Sunggyu's desperately. It was nearly pitch black and it could have been anybody, but the nickname gave Dongwoo's identity away.

"What-" he began, shocked to see this. "What are you doing Dongwoo, are you crazy? You're going to get sick- it's pouring rain in the middle of November for Christ's sake- god, get inside," he insisted, reaching down to tug his friend to his feet. He hooked his hands under Dongwoo's arms, pulling him up. The response he got was a cry, and suddenly, he was holding all of Dongwoo's weight so he wouldn't fall. 

Sunggyu himself was wet now as he stepped outside to help Dongwoo onto his own feet. The younger was shaking from the cold, and was favoring one ankle over the other, weakly grasping onto Sunggyu as he limped into the warm, cozy house. 

The older immediately closed the door and already began chastising his friend. "What the hell were you thinking? What were you doing out there in-"

He cut himself off upon hearing a sob come from Dongwoo, and instantly flipped the lightswitch on so he could get an actual look at him.

What he saw was something he wished he could take back. He almost wished he could shove Dongwoo back outside in the rain if it would have made this any less true.

"Woohyun!" the eldest called out desperately. "Woohyun get out here!"

Sunggyu rushed Dongwoo straight into the small living room, practically having to carry him there, before he sat him down as gently as possible on the sofa. He kneeled in front, taking in the sight of the dried blood that had been too thick to have been washed away completely by the rain, the bloodshot eyes- one nearly swollen shut- the faint bruises that were definitely going to be dark when they fully developed. He took in the way he shivered in front of him, biting his bloodied lip and hugging himself with shaking hands wrapped around his sides in an almost painful way.

And Sunggyu couldn't find the words. He wanted to ask what happened, if he was alright, how he got here in the middle of the night... But the words simply caught in his throat; he was too appalled to say anything. Instead, he knelt there with his mouth hung open like an idiot as he stared.

Woohyun had just emerged from the bedroom, having dressed quickly from the urgency in Sunggyu's voice and was now running down the hallway in search of him. "Gyu? Who was it?" he demanded worriedly.

"Living room," Sunggyu choked out finally, giving his location since the situation would have been so much more difficult to articulate.

Woohyun arrived in no time, taking in the sight with his own eyes. "Oh my god-" he gasped, rushing forth without a second thought. He grabbed a blanket from the chair and wrapped Dongwoo up in it, who could only make noises of pain and discomfort through his tears from being moved in that way.

"Th-Thank you..."

Neither of the two complained about their nice couch or their blanket getting soaked, not when Dongwoo was crying.

Dongwoo never cried. Or.. he used to. He used to always be so expressive with his emotions in any given situation, but not since Howon. But now he couldn't hold it in. He sobbed helplessly, and Woohyun could only bring his hyung into his arms and cuddle up to his side, hoping to transfer some body heat along with his comfort. Poor man was probably outside for quite a while in the whipping winter winds with icy cold rain.

"Gyu, go call Howon," Woohyun demanded, taking charge once he realized the oldest was in too much of a shock to do anything but take orders. With a quick nod, he stood and immediately began to run to his cellphone when Dongwoo was yelling (the best he could in his hoarse voice). "No, no please!" he begged, trying to squirm free to stop Sunggyu, but Woohyun held him tight and summoned Sunggyu back.

"Okay, okay, we won't call him. But you know it won't be any trouble- he loves you and he deserves to know about something like this. He could take you home and-"

"No, I-I-I don't w-want..." Dongwoo tried to speak, but cut himself off with a harsh fit of coughing that had him clutching hard at his chest. Woohyun shushed him with a terribly pained expression on his face, rubbing the slightly older man's back firmly with his big hand through the blanket.

"Baby, do we have a first-aid kit?" Woohyun asked frantically, racking his brain for anything.

"I-I don't think so.." Sunggyu trailed off. "I'll just go find something."

The oldest was gone, leaving only Woohyun and Dongwoo still cuddled up on the sofa. The youngest tried his hardest to calm his best friend down, to ease his tears just a little, but it was useless. He wanted to wait until Dongwoo had stopped crying before asking him what had happened, but it seemed that might take far too long, and if there's someone out there attacking people on the streets, that would need to be reported to the police as soon as possible. "Woo, baby.. What's wrong? What happened? ... Who did this to you?"

Dongwoo didn't even react to the question at all. It got to the point that Woohyun wasn't even sure he'd heard him say anything, so he did the most that he could do in that moment- he stayed absolutely still as Dongwoo finally gave in to his physical affections and leaned into his comforting hold, crying into his chest now instead of trying to hide his face by lowering it. Woohyun squeezed his own eyes shut, fearing that he'd start crying as well, but tried to focus on just petting Dongwoo's soaking wet hair and rubbing his back.

When the older of the two accidentally got caught in another fit of coughs, Woohyun felt the tight grip on his heart squeeze just a little more. "You've probably caught a fever from being out there, idiot," he thought aloud, words sounding much more depressing than he meant for them to. "Just wait a little bit and Sunggyu and I can clean you up, okay?"

At this point, he knew Dongwoo wouldn't respond to him, so it seemed more like he was talking to himself than anything else. It was more than Woohyun had expected when Dongwoo reached one trembling hand from the warmth trapped in the blanket to hold onto Woohyun's shirt self-consciously.

Woohyun just held him tighter until Sunggyu returned with their limited medical supplies along with what seemed to be a cup of warm water and a few hand towels. "Let's see what we can do," the eldest spoke, seeming to have gained his bearings enough to have some sense returned to him. Woohyun gently pulled Dongwoo's face out of his chest so that they could help him.

Dongwoo was sniffling, trying his hardest to get control over his tears so he could be as cooperative as possible, since these two took him into their home in the middle of the night without complaint.

Sunggyu stood up again, leaving the room only to return with a box of tissues. Dongwoo was rubbing at his tears with his hands, and gratefully accepted a tissue, using it to blow his nose.

"Just drop it on the floor, it doesn't matter right now," Woohyun assured Dongwoo. Sunggyu was wetting one of the small towels in the warm water.

"Look here," Sunggyu requested, so he could get a good look at what he was working with. He gently brought up a corner of the hand towel to clean away what was left of the blood coming from Dongwoo's nose. It was silent as he worked.

By the time Sunggyu was almost finished applying disinfectant to the little cuts, Dongwoo had been successfully able to stop crying and was now looking nothing short of exhausted. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "Sorry for.. interrupting."

Woohyun gave a sad smile, bringing Dongwoo's head back to rest on him. "You didn't interrupt anything. Don't be sorry."

Sunggyu stood and left the room, returning only moments later with an ice pack. "This one's probably going to look bad," he said sympathetically, passing the ice pack to Woohyun to hold against the darkening bruise surrounding his eye. Dongwoo sighed at the contact, looking like he might fall asleep against Woohyun. 

"Thank you..." It came straight from the heart, sincerely thankful to the selfless couple. Sunggyu was about to tell him that it wasn't a problem, but Dongwoo kept speaking. "He's never done this before."

"Who? Never done what?"

It seemed Dongwoo was in the mood for riddles or something (or he was just too afraid to come right out and say what was going on). "I don't want to be with Howon."

Woohyun looked confused. "We already said we won't call him... He'll be worried though, don't you think?"

"No," Dongwoo insisted. "I mean I don't want to be with him."

Sunggyu and Woohyun shared a look. Did he just get in an accident and hit his head or something? Why would he want to break up with his serious boyfriend? the eldest thought, more than just confused. "Why?" he asked for clarification.

"Because I'm tired."

"Tired of what, Dongwoo? And how does that relate to this?" Woohyun was begging, wanting only to help his friend but unable to do anything without answers.

"I already said," Dongwoo sighed. "He's never done this before."

And then things made sense; Sunggyu was able to put two and two together. "Before? Woo, did Howon do this?" Woohyun went wide eyed, only reaching the same realization once he heard Sunggyu say it explicitly.

Dongwoo only sniffed and lowered his head. "Can I stay here tonight?" 

Woohyun's mouth dropped open. "What?! Dongwoo, you're moving in here- you're not going back!" Sunggyu was still in shock, not able to produce a single word as he let Woohyun do all the talking, knowing that they both had the same stance on the situation. "Why would he- .. Was he mad? Why..."

Dongwoo's gaze dropped to the floor. "He was just jealous..."

"Just jealous? What would-" but Woohyun cut himself off, remembering exactly what would have made him jealous. He and Sunggyu had been reminiscing about their relationships and sex lives with Dongwoo right in front of him and his boyfriend. 

Woohyun wasn't angry with Dongwoo. He was angry- furious, even- but with Howon. Is jealousy any kind of reason to hurt someone? When Dongwoo began coughing again and clutching the damp blanket closer around himself, Sunggyu was finally able to find his words.

"Woo, do you want to take a hot shower or something? I don't want you to get too sick..."

Dongwoo nodded slowly, still not looking back up at either of the two. Woohyun removed the ice pack and held onto Dongwoo's shivering body as he helped him to his feet again, sharing a worried look with his boyfriend for a brief moment. Dongwoo was carefully testing out his ankle, seeing if he could put his weight on it. Woohyun didn't want to take any chances, though. "Maybe a bath, then?" he asked when the older found it was still painful to stand properly.

He frowned, but nodded gratefully before the couple gathered on either side of him to aid him in limping further into their home to their bedroom's bathroom, where they sat him on the closed toilet lid. 

"Gyu, baby, go find some extra clothes and then change the bed sheets, I'll get this," Woohyun requested quietly. Sunggyu left the room without commenting and then Woohyun was left with Dongwoo.

The younger's emotions were flooding his system, and all he could do was turn away from Dongwoo to place the ice pack on the sink's counter and then turn on the faucet in the bathtub. Biting back tears of anger and sympathy, he faced his friend again, tugging the soaking wet tshirt over his head.

"No, I can do it myself," Dongwoo insisted, reaching out for his shirt again.

Woohyun could only stare.

"Hyung, there are bruises everywhere," he gasped, taking in the sight of Dongwoo's torso that was littered with bruises big and small, dark and light, old and new... "You said he'd never done this before!"

Dongwoo looked down at himself before tilting his head back up. "Yeah, not to my face."

Sunggyu knocked once before entering the bathroom with a set of his own dry clothes for Dongwoo to wear, when he saw Woohyun staring and his exposed body. And then he was staring too.

Dongwoo self-consciously covered his chest with his arms. "Guys, I can do this by myself."

The couple silently decided that it would be best to allow him his privacy. Woohyun nodded grimly and pulled Sunggyu out by his wrist as well, closing the door gently behind them. 

"Did you change the sheets?" Woohyun asked in an emotionless tone, only trying to be strong and get things done. But Sunggyu's firm glare had him giving that goal up in seconds. The younger collapsed into tears, and a shocked Sunggyu had just enough sense to bring him into his arms. "He's been hurting him, Gyu..." he whimpered.

"I thought he said he'd never-"

"But he has," Woohyun interrupted. "It's our fault," he gasped, pulling away from his boyfriend's comforting embrace to look him in the eyes upon this new realization. Woohyun's eyes were huge in shock, while Sunggyu's squinted in confusion. "What do you mean this is our fault?"

"We introduced them, we set them up," he reminded. "Oh my god, we put our best friend in an abusive relationship-" Woohyun was running his hands through his hair in a stressed fashion. Sunggyu grabbed ahold of Woohyun's arms and returned them to his sides. "Stop- no, Woohyun, this is not our fault," he insisted.

Woohyun released a breath and moved over to the bed, dutifully stripping it of the dirty sheets while silent tears continued to fall down his cheeks.

"Do you believe me, babe?" Sunggyu pushed, coming to grab the wad of fabric from Woohyun's shaking hands. "Do you believe that we didn't make this happen?" he asked, already moving to put the sheets in their laundry basket while maintaining eye contact.

Woohyun sighed. "No... No, Gyu... I just- this is too much." The two of them went about remaking the bed together without another word spoken. When it was fully made, the two sat down on the edge of the bed beside one another solemnly; Woohyun leaned his head over onto his boyfriend's shoulder. "We made him jealous tonight, too. This right now is our fault at least."

Sunggyu sighed as well, both of them understanding why Dongwoo was so uncomfortable with the conversation. He wasn't just embarrassed about sex, he knew it would make Howon angry. They should have stopped. No, they shouldn't have even been talking about that in the first place.

"You don't still like Dongwoo, do you?" Sunggyu blurted out all of a sudden, making Woohyun remove his head from his shoulder.

"Of course not! It's been so many years... Where the hell is this coming from?" Woohyun demanded, utterly confused.

"I don't know, you just seem really upset about this," Sunggyu clarified quietly. Woohyun scoffed. "Of course I'm upset, my best friend in the whole world has been treated like shit by someone I thought I could trust to take care of him. I should be asking you, you're the one who kept talking about him during sex tonight."

"Well yeah, but you responded to it accordingly," Sunggyu joked back. The conversation became a bit lighter once they were able to find something amusing about it. Woohyun was grateful for that, and he seemed able to struggle with his tears until they stopped flowing. "But no, I don't like him either. We broke up, remember?"

Woohyun sighed, returning his head back to Sunggyu's shoulder as the older wrapped one arm around his back. "I think Dongwoo has his own category of friendship."

Sunggyu chuckled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Woohyun had a sad smile gracing his lips. "Well, of course I love him more than a friend, but not like a boyfriend or a lover or anything. He's just special. What kind of person sets up two of their exes just because he knew they'd be happy together? I would've been too sad for that. Or no, I don't even think the thought would have crossed my mind."

This was another of those moments where Sunggyu let Woohyun have his rants, listening patiently as he recounted the instances that Dongwoo had proven himself to be an exceptional person to them. They'd just reached the time that he drove Sunggyu to the hospital when he'd been diagnosed with a rare type of the flu while Woohyun was visiting his extended family in Japan and he stayed with him there even when his own family was too afraid to stay for fear of getting ill themselves, when the reminiscing couple heard sounds of movement again in the bathroom. 

Woohyun and Sunggyu both stood back up, making sure the blankets on the bed were still properly in place. Dongwoo was exiting the bathroom a minute or two later in the clothes that he was lent.

"Are you tired?" the eldest asked thoughtfully, to which he only received a nod in response. "Come lay down." Woohyun helped him over to their big bed, when Dongwoo froze.

"I'll go to the couch and sleep there, I'm not going to intrude-"

"Just for tonight, Dongwoo. Just for tonight, stay in here," Woohyun requested. "It'll make me feel more settled if you're with us," he added, knowing how much he hated making others feel bad. It seemed he truly was too exhausted to fight it any more than he already had, so he allowed himself to be slipped underneath the heavy comforter on Sunggyu and Woohyun's shared bed.

Sunggyu had slipped out of the room to get the ice pack back from the bathroom counter. It wasn't frozen anymore, but it was still pretty chilly. He brought it over to the bed, placing it on Dongwoo's hot forehead to cool him down.

"Gyu-jiji, I don't need-"

"No buts," the oldest insisted. "You're going to take what we give you tonight because we're doing it because we love you, okay?" he said with a smile. "Now, do you need anything else?"

Dongwoo could only shake his head no, overwhelmed with the feelings of care he was receiving as Woohyun crawled into the bed beside him. Sunggyu joined them shortly on the other side of him after he turned off the main light. Sunggyu wasn't one for cuddling, but he'd gotten used to it- the past two people he'd dated (who were both, oddly enough, in bed with him at that very moment) were freaks about cuddling. That being said, he turned over onto his side and threw an arm over Dongwoo's waist, holding onto his side just to provide the physical comfort he knew his dongsaeng needed. Woohyun smiled and followed his lead.

They wanted answers, but even one glance at Dongwoo tonight told them that he was in desperate need of some sleep. It even seemed that he may have already fallen asleep by the time they cuddled up to him.

~~

Sunggyu woke up early to call all three of them in sick from work that day. He'd just finished speaking with the principal of Woohyun's school and the manager of the coffee shop where Dongwoo worked when he hesitated. He was going to have to call his boss now- he was going to have to call Howon. 

He could have just called the office and spoken to a secretary, but he usually just called Howon on his cellphone since they were so close. Somehow, he had a feeling that he should wait to raise any awareness of the situation until he spoke to Dongwoo about it, so he went with how he usually did things so Howon didn't get suspicious.

"Hello?" the devil answered the phone.

"Howon, it's Sunggyu."

"Yeah, I have caller ID, idiot," he joked. "What do you need?"

Sunggyu sighed. "I'm really just not feeling well this morning, I-"

"Say no more," Howon reassured him. "It's fine, stay home and rest."

It actually sickened Sunggyu how kind Howon was. He used to appreciate having a boss like this. He used to consider Howon his friend for his kindness and compassion and understanding. But now it made him angrier than he ever remembered being before.

"Thanks Howon, I will." He was about to end the call, when...

"Oh, Sunggyu, I'm just wondering.. Have you seen Dongwoo today at all?"

Sunggyu gulped, glancing towards his bedroom door where he knew the man in question was sleeping. "No, I haven't," he lied through his teeth. "Why? Was he not at home?"

"No," Howon sighed. "He wasn't there when I woke up. No problem, though, he probably just went for a jog before work. No biggie. Anyway, I hope you feel better soon."

"Yeah. Thanks."

The call ended, and Sunggyu released a deep breath. He tossed his phone onto the couch and made his way back to his and Woohyun's bedroom, opening and closing the door quietly. He sat on the edge of the bed, watching as Dongwoo and Woohyun remained deeply asleep, curling into one another's embrace. Sunggyu reached carefully between them to extract the useless ice pack from the bed between their bodies; it must have fallen off of Dongwoo sometime in the middle of the night when he shifted positions.

He deposited it on the nightstand and reached forth to put the back of his hand on Dongwoo's forehead to see if it was still hot. It was warm, but much better than last night, which was already an improvement. He inspected the younger's relaxed face, realizing he was right about the bruise over his eye looking terrible once it had a chance to show up. His lips were still cut up, and his face was discoloured in some areas, but he really did look much better than he did the night before.

He knew that he couldn't fall back asleep once he'd already gotten out of bed, and he also knew that the other two likely wouldn't get up for a few more hours anyway. 

He brushed some hair away from his own boyfriend's face lovingly before moving back to lay his hand on Dongwoo's shoulder. "Happy birthday, Dongwoo," he whispered to the sleeping form before standing back up to go do something productive with his extra time. Probably clean up the living room from their get-together last night that Woohyun had distracted him from doing.

~~

"Thank you, hyung. A-And thank you, too, Woohyunnie. But thanks again for breakfast Gyu-jiji," Dongwoo said sincerely once the three of them had finished eating what Sunggyu had prepared for them.

"Any time," Sunggyu responded, smiling fondly at his friend.

Dongwoo didn't smile back, though. Instead, he only sighed. "You guys probably have a lot of questions, don't you?"

"Oh, no, it's okay if you don't want to-" Woohyun began, but was cut off. "It's okay," Dongwoo insisted. "I can talk."

Woohyun looked over to Sunggyu, the two sharing a look before looking back to the other. "How long has this been going on?" Woohyun was the first to ask something.

Dongwoo looked a little confused about that question, though. "I don't know, honestly," he eventually replied. But that was enough of an answer that they needed to know that he'd kept this hidden for far too long.

"Why does he do it?" Sunggyu asked, hoping this one wouldn't be too painful to answer.

"I don't know, he's just angry. He tries to be such a good person to everybody, so I guess he can't keep it up all the time." Woohyun wanted to point out that Dongwoo was a good person to everybody, and he can somehow keep it up all the time. But he kept his mouth shut and let Dongwoo keep talking. "It was usually jealousy. Sometimes I can't help just being touchy with people, I'd always forget. But I guess that means he loved me, right? If he's getting jealous over me... He even had me quit my job so we could spend more time together. He said my coworkers there were always hitting on me. I mean, I believed him, of course. He was my boyfriend and he always told me how much he loved me and how much he wanted to protect me. I guess it was just stupid of me to put up with it. It was stupid to believe what he was saying when he would just follow it up with a punch. Maybe I'm too naive. I don't know."

"Dongwoo...." Woohyun whimpered, horrified by the way that Howon had manipulated Dongwoo. He had made Dongwoo dependent on him by having him quit his well paying job so he'd move in with him, and Dongwoo didn't even notice his ulterior motives. He only saw that Howon was taking care of him. Woohyun knew Dongwoo was a kindhearted person who would follow someone he loved into the depths of hell for their sake, not asking any questions about why or how- loving blindly.

"But I don't believe him any more," Dongwoo added quickly. "I'm really tired, all the time... I just.. I'm done and I want it over, so I came here, and... if it's not too much after everything you've done for me so far, I wanted to ask for your help. I want to get out of this. I feel like I've changed so much and I don't even feel like myself anymore. I just... I really need your help, that's all..."

Sunggyu beamed at his best friend. "Of course we'll help you, you could never ask for too much from us. In return, I want to ask that you stay here for a while. You don't need to go out and find a hotel or anything, and I want you to stay here for as long as you need. Okay?" He was so proud. He wasn't going to have speak any sense into him- he realized everything on his own and came to them for help. He wasn't going to let him down the one time that he ever requested anything significant from either of them. Now it was their turn to prove to Dongwoo how they could be exceptional friends too. 

Dongwoo smiled at them both. "If you're sure it's not a hassle, I would be.. really appreciative. I don't want to go back and stay with him until I can afford my own place."

"And we wouldn't allow you to do that, either!" Woohyun exclaimed horrified. He, too, just wanted Howon out of Dongwoo's life. "If you want, we can even go pick up your stuff today. Maybe while Howon's still at work? You can talk to him about it after."

Dongwoo glanced down at his half-empty cup of coffee that he was holding onto tightly with both hands and his smile faded into one that was much more sad than his last. "Guys.. I- I don't even know what to say right now." He cleared his throat as it began closing up, hoping to hold onto his ability to speak before he started crying because there was so much he needed to tell them. "I'm really scared," he admitted.

At the sight of his tears, Woohyun reached out to put one hand over Dongwoo's on his mug. "Hyung, I'm so proud of you, and I'm sure Sunggyu is too. You've been so brave coming here, and we're not going to just brush past this, I promise. We're going to be here every step, okay?"

"I know, I know you will, I just don't want to take advantage of you guys being so nice to me-"

"Woah, stop," Sunggyu demanded, cutting Dongwoo off from his rambling. "We're being nice to you because you are our best friend in the whole world, Woo. We're not nice to you for any reason other than that you are so beautifully you and we want to always make sure that you stay that way. I'm sorry that we've been such bad friends for not seeing."

Dongwoo shook his head, sniffling even though his tears wouldn't cease. "You're not bad friends. I just didn't tell you. I loved him. I love him, actually. Even now. And it's going to be so hard knowing that this is the end for me, that I'm not going to find someone else, that I'm just giving up on my last chance at having something special with somebody. But I can't do this anymore, it's too painful."

"What do you mean you won't find someone else, hyung?" Woohyun asked, genuinely confused.

"I just mean... Why would someone fall for me of all people? It's not like there's a lot of openly gay people around here, and even for those who are, I'm not exactly a catch by any sense of the word. Especially now, just- look at me."

"Dongwoo, where did you even get these crazy thoughts??"

"I didn't get them from anywhere, hyung, it's just- me. Just who I am." Dongwoo sounded so upset about that.

Sunggyu snorted. "And you think you'll actually end up alone with a personality like yours? Woo, you need to forget the things Howon told you. He was a jealous bastard who didn't even realize that he had an angel and chose to throw it away. Bruises will fade, and so will this pain. I promise that one day, you're going to think back to this conversation and wonder why the hell you ever even thought like this in the first place. If I didn't think you were a catch, I wouldn't have spent years of my life in a relationship with you. And I wouldn't have cherished our friendship enough to be by your side all these years after."

"Maybe I should just never leave here," Dongwoo groaned, leaning forward to press his forehead to the wooden table they were sitting around.

Woohyun laughed at him. "Why's that?"

"Because you're being so nice. I want it to stay like this," he answered, turning his head to the side to glance at Woohyun through his drying eyes, smiling softly as well.

"Well no one's forcing you to leave."

Dongwoo didn't seem to have anything to say after that; he released his hold on his mug to sit back in the chair against its back with his hands in his lap. "What are you thinking about?" Woohyun pressed. Dongwoo smiled, taking a few deep breaths to collect himself again before responding. "Nothing. I'm... I'm nervous about what's going to come."

"Why is that making you smile?" Sunggyu asked with a confused chuckle.

"Because I knew I wouldn't be totally alone. I'm really scared to do this, but I know that it's what I want now and I knew I could count on you. I don't know what's going to happen- this is so unpredictable, but the good part is that I think it might be worth it."

"Dongwoo, I'm glad you came to us," Woohyun gushed. "I'm so happy to know that you trust us enough with something like this. It's completely understandable that this would make you scared- I mean, I'm even scared right now. But we've all got each other. Right?"

Sunggyu put his hand on Woohyun's thigh, the two sharing a beautiful gaze. "Of course that's right. Let's do something today to cheer us up," Sunggyu suggested.

"Hyung, I really don't want to go out anywhere like this," Dongwoo complained, gently rubbing the side of his face self-consciously.

"Well then let's do something here to cheer us up."

Dongwoo sighed. "I'm not in the mood for anything. Look, guys, I'm so happy that you're both here for me and everything, and I have hope for some kind of a future, but... I really just don't want to do anything right now. I know it's not like me to mope around, but you've got to understand. I spent 5 years of my life with Howon.. We lived together, we went everywhere together, I- I- I changed everything for him. And now I'm.. just.. an absolute wreck, a lost cause.. I don't know, I don't have a real job, I can't afford to buy anything I could actually ever need, and I look like I was just in a car accident for God's sake. I just want a bit of time to just... not do anything.. Does that even make sense? I feel like I'm talking nonsense! I don't want to be ungrateful-"

"We don't think you're ungrateful, Woo," Sunggyu reassured him. "I understand that completely, I'm sorry. I was just so caught up in trying to make you feel better, but I get that it'll take time. Never feel like you're mooching off of us by staying here- we know it'll take a while to get back on your feet. I mean, if you're here in 10 years still lounging on the couch, maybe then we'll consider kicking you out," he joked, making Dongwoo laugh lightly.

"I promise that won't happen, hyung. Thank you for... everything."

Sunggyu and Woohyun stood up, unable to hold back from embracing their friend who'd been so strong. Dongwoo laughed in the hug, pulling himself to his feet as well so he could hold the two of them closer.

"So..." Woohyun mumbled, not breaking the hug. "What I'm hearing is that we have to wait until tomorrow to release bugs in Howon's apartment?"

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading this :)
> 
> I put it as part of a series because there will be 3 sequels- each an alternate ending based on different requested pairings. Please look forward to it!


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